SAN RAFAEL, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies Recognized for Excellence in Product Development, Quality, Services, Support and Sales

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:
ADSK) a leader in 2D and 3D design and engineering software, and
Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:
CTXS), the global leader in application delivery infrastructure, today announced they were awarded the 2009 Emerging Alliance Excellence Award by the
Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP). The Emerging Alliance Excellence Awards recognize and celebrate best practices between companies that have achieved success in alliance efforts in setting milestones and goals. ASAP recognized the depth of the partnership between Autodesk and Citrix in relation to a pilot program involving Autodesk's AutoCAD(R) Map 3D software and Citrix XenApp(TM) software across a variety of criteria, including product development, quality, services, support, and sales.

"The ability to partner successfully is instrumental in managing multi-cultural business on a global scale--and Autodesk and Citrix have approached their alliance in an innovative way. Even though the two companies had different sales models, they implemented new sales and marketing programs--including creating a co-branded website and expanding and leveraging each other's VAR channel programs--to provide customers with increased solutions and value," said Art Canter, President and Executive Director, Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals

Early in 2008, Autodesk joined the Citrix Ready program, and the two companies launched a pilot program to provide customers with on-demand access to Autodesk's
AutoCAD Map 3D software through Citrix XenApp software. As the companies set up bench marks and goals throughout the year, they expanded the scope to include
co-marketing efforts, and rules of engagement for sales, which have proven to be highly effective. By delivering AutoCAD Map 3D software to users virtually with Citrix software, customers can increase security, reduced hardware costs, and increase return on investment.

AutoCAD Map 3D software is used for integration of computer-aided design (CAD) and geographic information systems (GIS) information during project design and maintenance. XenApp, an end-to-end application delivery system, provides a secure environment to deliver AutoCAD Map 3D software across the enterprise without sacrificing performance or functionality. As an industry-proven application virtualization system, XenApp helps further reduce IT management costs and increase data security by centralizing application processing and administration in the datacenter.

"Some of the
largest telecommunications firms, power utilities and government agencies are Citrix users and they require an easy and cost effective way to deliver AutoCAD Map 3D software across their organizations, regardless of location, device or network connection," said Jim Lynch, vice president of industry marketing for AEC Solutions. "Our partnership with Citrix means our customers can now virtually create, deploy and manage their infrastructure solutions from a Citrix environment. We are thrilled to receive this award in recognition for our work with Citrix and look forward to our continued partnership."

"Our partnership has enabled Citrix and Autodesk to bring virtualization to a new segment of users who will benefit greatly from the efficiency of the technology," said John Fanelli, vice president, Communities Marketing at Citrix. "We are pleased to partner with Autodesk. By utilizing the Citrix Ready verification process, Autodesk and Citrix help mutual customers select and deploy the best solutions for their businesses. We are quite pleased with the results we've already experienced in our partnership."

About the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP)

ASAP is the leading global professional association dedicated to alliance formation and management. Founded in 1998, the organization provides a forum to exchange best practices and a framework for cultivating the skills and toolsets needed to manage successful business partnerships. Through a robust certification program, unsurpassed research, and peer-to-peer networking, ASAP members are able to achieve greater results both within their own careers as well as for their organizational team. Previous Excellence Awards winners include Cisco and Fujitsu in 2008; British Telecom and Hewlett Packard in 2007; and Hewlett Packard and Microsoft--Sprint and Cisco in 2006.
www.strategic-alliances.org

About Citrix

Citrix Systems, Inc. is the global leader and the most trusted name in Application Delivery Infrastructure. More than 215,000 organizations worldwide rely on Citrix to deliver any application to users anywhere with the best performance, highest security and lowest cost. Citrix customers include 100 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 99 percent of the Fortune Global 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and prosumers. Citrix has approximately 8,000 partners in more than 100 countries. Annual revenue in 2008 was $1.6 billion.

About the Citrix Ready Program

The Citrix Ready Program is designed to enable Citrix customers to identify products that have been verified to work together, thereby ensuring the highest quality end-user experience with the Citrix Delivery Center. All products featured in
the Citrix Ready catalogue have completed verification testing, providing confidence in joint solution compatibility. The Citrix Ready Program currently includes more than 800 products from 150 companies verified as part of the
Citrix Ready Program; nearly 1200 products in 8000 instances documented in the
Citrix Ready Community Verified Program; and, 2200 companies enrolled in the
Citrix Technology Member Program. Citrix Ready Program member benefits include branding, the online product catalog, quarterly webinars with product managers and joint solution marketing opportunities. Citrix Ready participation generates new revenue opportunities, improves customer satisfaction, and increases mindshare leveraging the Citrix brand. For more information on the Autodesk and Citrix alliance, go to
www.autodesk.com/citrix.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and
3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit
www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk and AutoCAD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Citrix(R), Citrix XenApp(TM) and Citrix Ready(TM) are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.